“Why sunlight?” asked K’hana, leaning against the lighthouse wall. The other elves were there as well, all wearing somber expressions. They had conquered the tower, but through little in the way of their own efforts. As such, they clearly felt it was a hollow victory. Sure, they’d gained some experience and a few items apiece, but their time in the tower had shown them that they weren’t ready for such a challenge.

Elijah understood it, too. It was easy to look at the concept of a tower as an opportunity – and it was – but it was also a deadly scenario meant to push a well-prepared group to its limits. Ensuring that was the fact that the level of the creatures inside – and their power – was scaled based on the highest member of the would-be conquerors. The only reason Elijah was capable of overcoming those challenges alone was a combination of his high-quality gear, the versatility of his class and archetype, and, most importantly, his potent Dragon Core. Without any of those things, he would’ve been destined to lose.

Of course, he didn’t acknowledge that he’d managed to conquer his first tower without the benefit of his Dragon Core. Yet, that experience had been a defining moment for him. A crucible that reforged him, body and mind. And he’d beaten it not through skill, but through a sheer application of willpower.

Most people would have failed.

Elijah knew that.

Certainly, the elves would have fallen. Together or alone, they were simply ill-suited to the task.

Which meant that he felt a little bad about insisting they should hold up their end of the bargain they’d struck. None of the items they’d been awarded sounded particularly interesting. Elijah didn’t think he would actually use any of them, but he also had no intention of letting the elves off without paying for his services. By all accounts, they’d each gotten the easier end of the deal. They’d nearly died, sure. But they’d done almost nothing, and they’d gotten rewards for each level he’d overcome.

Still, even though he only intended to sell it to someone like Atticus, he wasn’t sure which item he was going to take. So, after leaving the tower, the group had settled in to rest – they still weren’t entirely recovered – while Elijah had told them everything he could about the tower. That included his method of slaying the vampiric Lord Lothgar.

“You guys don’t have vampires?” he asked. “You know, blood suckers that are allergic to crosses, garlic, and sunlight?”

K’hana shook her head. “We…do not. Are these monsters native to Earth?”

Elijah answered, “No. More like myths. Just stories we would tell one another. But I can guarantee that anyone from Earth would have figured it out.”

“Interesting.”

It really was. Until that moment, Elijah had never considered that it would be possible for the system to draw inspiration from Earth’s mythology. And given humanity’s obsession with entertainment and storytelling, there was a lot of material out there. Perhaps someone else would run a tower and have to fight the system’s version of Freddy Krueger. Or the Power Rangers. Who knew what the limitations might be?

Or if there were any.

Elijah said, “So, I’m having a little trouble figuring out which item I want.”

Badu’s expression darkened. Or perhaps that was his resting expression. Either way, at least he didn’t speak. Elijah was tempted to just take whichever reward the idiotic Wind Whisperer cherished most, but he wasn’t quite that vindictive.

“Is there nothing else we can offer you?” asked K’hana.

He shrugged. “Unless you can direct me to some good guides on cultivation, no,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. “I’ve tried looking through the Knowledge Base, but…well, it’s not easy to sort through all that stuff. I swear, last time I tried, I spent like two hours searching and I found almost nothing worthwhile.”

“Did you consult a Librarian?”

“A what?” Elijah asked. “I mean, I know what a librarian is. Obviously. We had them in our libraries. You know, big collections of books. But the way you said that made me think you’re talking about something completely different.”

“A Librarian is a class derived from the Scholar archetype. Those with that class often work to help people find specific information in a Branch’s Knowledge Base,” said K’hana. “Of course, they also work with private knowledge bases as well. The Blue Water sect employs many such Librarians in our…their own knowledge repositories.”

Elijah ran his hand through his hair, then admitted, “I don’t think there were any Librarians attached to any of the Branches I’ve visited. None that I saw, anyway. Just Envoys.”

“We have a Librarian in Avandor.”

Elijah didn’t need her to spell it out for him. They owed him a tower reward that he clearly didn’t need. Or want, really. But he could think of a hundred ways a Librarian could help him. So far, he’d just snatched any guide that he could afford and seemed interesting. As a result, he’d expanded the breadth of his knowledge of his new universe, at least to some degree. However, he hadn’t gotten any information specific to his needs.

But one subject interested him more than any other. Cultivation – specifically, for his Soul, which had so far proven a fruitless pursuit. It wasn’t like cultivating his Mind or Body, where he’d managed to stumble his way to success. Reaching the next stage of Soul cultivation would require him to redraw the pathways through which ethera infused his body. Until he did that, he would be stuck at his current stage.

“Just so we’re clear, what are you offering?” he asked.

“One subject,” K’hana answered. “Our Librarian will help you answer one question. In exchange, you will forego the additional reward for conquering the tower.”

“Two.”

“No,” she said.

“What? Why? It’s just –”

“Faran’s level is low,” she said. “His cooldown is expansive. He can answer one question per week.”

“Ugh. Seriously? That must make leveling slow,” Elijah remarked.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“It is. However, he is a diligent worker, and a Librarian’s task extends further than mere research. He will go far, so long as our people survive,” K’hana said with some pride.

“She’s just saying that because he’s her brother,” Syka said with a grin.

“That is untrue,” K’hana retorted, her cheeks reddening.

“Alright,” Elijah said. “How about this? One question now. Another the next time I visit.”

“That is acceptable,” K’hana said, clearly relieved. After that, the rest of the elves relaxed a little. It seemed that they had expected him to react poorly to the restriction. Perhaps they even thought he would simply kill them and take their rewards. Maybe some people would have. After all, he’d conquered a tower on his own. It didn’t seem impossible that he could kill them just as easily.

A silly notion, from Elijah’s perspective. Not only did he value life more than that, but he stood to gain much more from keeping them alive. Knowledge was more valuable than a few trinkets.

Speaking of trinkets, Elijah looked down at his new staff. As he did, he recalled the notification he’d gotten after completing the tower with a B-Grade:

Reward for conquering the Magister’s Estate:

Dragon-Touched Staff

It was not a remarkable-looking weapon. Just a six-foot-tall staff of polished, black wood. When Elijah looked closely, he could see a slight scale pattern along the shaft, but beyond that, the only decoration was on the metallic caps on either end. They bore twin sigils that looked like stylized dragons that had been etched into the metal.

However, considering that he’d cracked his Crook of the Serpent Healer, Elijah had accepted the reward eagerly. Like his other staves, using it didn’t give him any additional attributes, but he knew it would have other benefits. He just needed to visit a merchant like Atticus so he could identify it properly.

In addition to the Dragon-Touched Staff, Elijah had benefited from the last level of the tower by gaining another two levels. At present, he was level seventy-two, which meant he’d finally reached the top five on the power ladder:

Planetary Power Rankings (Earth)

1. Oscar Ramirez – Level 75

2. Thor Gunderson – Level 74

3. Sadie Song – Level 73

4. Elijah Hart – Level 72

5. Hu Shui – Level 71

6. Niko Song – Level 66

7. Davu Adebowale– Level 64

8. Anupriya Pandey – Level 61

9. Ram Khandu – Level 59

10. Gunnar Lindstrom – Level 57

11. …

12. …

13. …

Elijah couldn’t believe he hadn’t reached the top spot. As quickly as he’d leveled in the tower, the top three had managed to stay ahead. Clearly, they’d found some very unique situations to overcome. Perhaps they’d even challenged towers themselves. However, judging by the names, it seemed likely that Sadie Song and Niko Song were related. Sure, Song wasn’t an uncommon surname, but the fact that they were so close together on the power ladder was enough of a coincidence for Elijah to feel certain of his intuition.

But more than anything, Elijah was most impressed with Oscar Ramirez and Thor Gunderson. He knew precisely how difficult it was to level, and those two stood above everyone else. It was remarkable, and Elijah hoped he could someday meet them and compare notes. Perhaps they could even work together.

Of course, as always, he searched the list for Carmen’s name, finding her just outside the top fifty. Her progression was impressive, too, but Elijah was more interested in confirming that she was still alive. That provided him with a level of comfort that made it easier to keep going.

By the time Elijah had finished with his various notifications, the elves were ready to move out. So, they set off across the arid landscape, eventually entering the Twilight Clefts. After a few more hours, they arrived back at Arvandor, where K’hana led him to the city’s Branch.

As they walked, Elijah asked, “How many elves live here?”

“Fourteen thousand, three-hundred, and twelve,” she answered.

“So many? Was your world so bad that you would risk coming here? I mean, don’t get me wrong – I love Earth. It’s my home. But even you have to admit that it’s a difficult place to survive, what with the monsters and towers and Voxx.”

“With danger comes opportunity,” she answered. “On Erag, my lifespan would have been no more than a century. Here, I have the opportunity to live for millennia. I can achieve power unlike anyone in my family. Perhaps I can even reach immortality. Certainly, my world was safe. We were well-protected. But without risk, I could never hope to rise above the circumstances of my birth. I was born a Tteset, and I would have died a Tteset. Now, I can rise above that.”

Elijah wasn’t sure what a Tteset was, but he assumed it was the caste the elf had belonged to. He understood her reasoning, too. Just like the people back in Ironshore, she’d come to Earth for opportunity.

Eventually, they reached the Branch, which was manned by a single elven Envoy. K’hana spoke to that attendant, and Elijah was allowed to access the Branch. As he took care of some housekeeping – checking his stock of Ethereum as well as studying the map to see if there were any towns nearby. As it turned out, there was.

And it was his goal.

Seattle was only a few hundred miles away to the northeast.

It took all of Elijah’s self-control not to leave right then. However, he restrained himself, and soon enough, K’hana returned with a young boy in tow. If he was more than fifteen, Elijah would have been surprised, but he definitely saw the resemblance between the two siblings.

Once Elijah told Faran what he wanted, the boy touched the crystalline Branch, then used some sort of ability. It lit up with inner light, then grew a crystal leaf. He handed it over to Elijah, saying, “It is called An Introduction to Druidic Cultivation, and it covers the first three stages.”

“Druid?” asked K’hana, having overheard.

“Yep. That’s me.”

“You are a Druid.”

“Uh…yeah. I just said that.”

“But in the tower, you were effective…”

“I know. I was there.”

“How?”

“Talent?”

“I do not jest. Druids are known to be weak in combat. Useful, certainly, but they are not capable of what you did,” she insisted.

“Ouch. Tell me how you really feel,” he muttered. Her perception of his archetype wasn’t really a surprise. He’d known all along that Druids traded potency for versatility. But he hadn’t thought their – or by extension, his – reputation was that poor. To hear Nerthus talk about it, Druids were the most powerful archetype in existence. Then again, he was a tree spirit, so perhaps he wasn’t particularly unbiased on the subject.

“How?” she asked again, stepping closer.

Elijah took a step back. He certainly appreciated the elf’s looks, but he wasn’t quite ready to contemplate interspecies relations. And given her appearance, that would inevitably be where his mind went if she remained in such close proximity.

“I’m super special,” he said with a grin. “Well, now that I’ve got what I wanted, I suppose it’s time for me to mosey on along. Hit the ol’ dusty train, so to speak.” He gave her an awkward salute that he immediately regretted, then said, “Off I go before I truly humiliate myself. I’ll see myself out.”

And he did, regretting more than just his silly salute. Perhaps he should go back to see if K’hana had any interest in humans. But by the time he’d reached the city’s exit, he still hadn’t come to any decision, so he thought it best if he just moved along. After all, he still had one question to ask, so he intended to come back.

Maybe by then, he would know whether or not he wanted to pursue a human-elf relationship.